SOCW 310 Exam 1 (Ch 5-7) Flashcards
Role Preparation
the process of developing a shared expectation for the helping process, a
shared role definition of the social worker and of the client, and a mutual understanding of client rights and obligations, including informed consent and limitations to the rights of confidentiality
3 Stages of Role Preparation
1.Determine your client’s
expectations for the helping
process
- discussing the helping process
- discussing informed consent, confidentiality, and agency policies
1.Determine your client’s
expectations for the helping
process
-first step=meet client where they are at
-Be client centered in understanding what
your client hopes to gain from working
with you
-Will be helpful in later stages of
assessment and goal setting
- Determine your clients expectations for the helping process (Clients Responses)
-Expectations stated in terms of change in personal circumstances
“I don’t want to hear these voices anymore”
-What the social worker will do to facilitate change
“I need to help him understand how much he is hurting me”
-What the helping system will do to facilitate change
“I need to get up the list for subsidized housing”
-Hesitation- personal or uncertain
-Concerns regarding stigma (negative judgments that are made about people based on membership in socially constructed categories)
“I don’t know what my friends will think about me coming here.”
- Discussing the helping process
By the end of this discussion, you should have:
◦ Negotiated an agreement about the basic expectations and hopes for the types of helping provided by you and your agency
◦ Clarification may be necessary if expectations are not consistent with agency role; such as advice seeking or forcing behavior change on others.
◦ Shared information about the methods of helping provided by
you and your agency
◦ Part of informed consent; make sure that it is understandable based on your
client’s developmental level
◦ How would you explain the role of a family services specialist (CPS) to a 3rd
grader? The role of vocational rehab to an adult with a disability?
◦ Discussed the process of change
◦ Lend confidence that the client will be able to overcome whatever
circumstances, without promising
◦ Outline the change process
◦ Discussed the Roles of Social Worker and Client
◦ Clarify what you can or cannot do in the helping process
◦ Describe the purpose of your work
◦ Stress collaboration
◦ Discuss reporting authority
- communicating informed consent, confidentiality, and agency policy
The SW/Client Relationship exists within a
context of limits, possibilities, and rights.
◦ Confidentiality and its limits
◦ Obtain informed consent for treatment
◦ Share agency policies and legal limits
◦ Do so in a way that is understandable to
developmental level of client
◦ Avoid jargon
Facilitative Conditions
Empathy, Authenticity, and Respect
Historical Bias
Carl Rogers (1957) conceptualized as
empathy, unconditional positive
regard, and congruence
◦ Basis for client centered treatment
& motivational interviewing
◦ If using these three components,
relationship is more likely to be
collaborative and strengths based
Empathetic Communication
the ability of the social worker to perceive accurately and sensitively the inner feelings of the client and to communicate their understanding of those feelings in language attuned to the client’s experiencing of that moment
◦ Mirroring an affective response (emotional/physiological)
whereby the listener vicariously experiences the speaker’s
emotions.
◦ Self-Awareness/Emotional Regulation allows the listener to
perceive their own internal emotional experience and its
source while realizing that the speaker is a separate individual
◦ Empathic Action the verbal processing of communicating
what the Social Worker understands; includes body language
and physical attending
Sympathetic Responding
occurs when the SW experiences
significant emotional reactions, but focuses on their own experiences rather than those of the clients.
◦ A sometimes subtle shift from the CLIENT’S point of view to
the SOCIAL WORKER’S point of view
◦ Can contribute to compassion fatigue
Perspective Taking
Making an educated guess about someone’s emotional experience
-Objectivity
-Educated guess based on personal
experience, vicarious experiences, and from study
-The social worker may have very different personal experiences from their clients
-People never experience and circumstances in the same way
Accurately Conveying Empathy
Surface Level Empathy- direct reflection of the feelings and concerns that clients express, usually using the same vocabulary
Reciprocal Empathy- focus on direct feelings client expresses; expands the language of feelings that are used in conversation
◦ What if you are inaccurate?
◦ What if you put words into client’s mouth due to power differential?
Additive Empathy- process of reflecting the full range and intensity of the surface and underlying feelings that clients convey through verbal and nonverbal communication– additive in nature
◦ Requires a working relationship that is fairly intimate
◦ Ordinarily used in psychotherapy/clinical social work
Why use empathetic communication?
-facilitated the intervention process
-accurately assessing clients problems
-understanding anger and deescalating risk of violence
Authenticity
-is the sharing of self by relating in a
natural and genuine manner
Benefits and risks of authentic responses
-Show empathy, understanding, and models appropriate communication and problem solving strategiesDue to focus on -SW, can make client’s feel as though they are not being focused on.
Types of authentic responses
Self-Involving Statements- are messages that express the social worker’s personal reaction to the client
* Personalize messages by using the pronoun “I”
* Share feelings that lie at varying depths
* Describe the situation or behavior in neutral or descriptive terms
* Identify the specific impact of the situation or behavior on
others
How to address concerns in the helping process
Precede self-disclosure with open-ended questions or empathic responses about their request
Lean into issue vs skirt issue where appropriate
After fully exploring a concern; response authentically
Negotiated Relationships
those in which social workers
assume the roles of compromiser, mediator, and enforcer in addition to the more comfortable role of counselor. This
most often occurs in social work-client relationships where the client is involuntary
Declining and setting limits
(often relates to ethical situations)
Practice assertiveness:
-not passive, not agressive
-balances respect for both self and client
Verbal Following Skills
-Furthering Responses
-Reflection Responses
-Closed-Ended Questions
-Open-Ended Questions
-Summarizing
-Seeking Concreteness
-Providing and Maintaining Focus
Furthering responses
those utterances and actions that,
rather than convey a complete thought, send the message that you are listening attentively and invite further sharing.
◦ Minimal Responses (Mmhmm)
◦ Nonverbal Minimal Prompts (nodding, facial expressions)
◦ Verbal Minimal Prompts (Yes, I see, tell me more)
◦ Accent Responses (Repeat a certain part/word/phrase)
Reflective responses
Simple Reflections: Restate using the same or similar language
-When reflecting emotions; this is the same as the surface-level empathic responses from Chapter 5.
-Convey understanding and encourage further exploration
Complex Reflections: Go beyond what the
client has directly stated or implied, adds
meaning, conveys more complex picture. These reflections add content.
-When reflecting emotions; this is used in reciprocal or additive level
Reframing: When a complex reflection is used to suggest new ways of thinking about a problem; shifts understanding to thinking about strengths/possibilities
considerations for reflective responses
-No “Formula”
-Understanding of your orienting theoretical perspectives of social work practice is important in how you approach the relationship and collaborate with clients
-Important to be able to have good self awareness and self-regulation skills
-Pay attention to both to feeling and words
Close-ended questions
Define a topic and restrict responses to a few words. Work well if you need to make a direct appeal for specific information
